Meet the Cambridge fellow raising money to protect chimps from COVID-19

COVID-19 may seem like a uniquely human crisis, but it also poses a significant threat to our closest living relatives. For the critically endangered West African chimpanzees, who live in close proximity to humans in the Nimba Mountains and Bossou hills in Guinea, an outbreak of the virus could mean extinction.

Dr Kathelijne Koops, a primatologist in the Department of Archaeology and a Fellow at Homerton College, has been studying chimps in these specific geographical locations since 2003. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, she has been fundraising alongside fellow researchers to provide reusable masks in order to protect the local community and prevent the virus from reaching the chimpanzee population in the region.

Flanle, a chimpanzee a the Nimba research site (Photo credit: Dr. Kathelijne Koops)

Chimpanzees’ biological similarity to humans means they are incredibly vulnerable to respiratory viruses like Covid-19. “They are our closest living relatives, and because they are so similar they basically can get just about any disease we can, and often the outcome for them is much worse than for us”, Koops explains.

Dr Koops recalls how similar health crises have devastated chimp populations in the past: “At Bossou there is only a very small community of chimps remaining, partly because a proportion of that group died from a flu-like epidemic which most likely came from humans. Cases like this have been recorded all across Africa – chimps die from these diseases.”

A Covid outbreak amongst chimpanzees would have potentially devastating repercussions for the future of the species. “West African chimpanzees are critically endangered, and the numbers of apes across the continent have gone down immensely. They are already under threat from habitat loss as well as hunting and the pet trade. Disease transmission is another big threat to the survival of the species. That’s why it’s critical that we don’t just sit back now.”

Researchers wearing masks funded by the campaign (Photo credit: Dr. Kathelijne Koops)

If the pandemic were to spread to a group of chimps, transmission would be very swift: “They’re so social, so the virus would spread very quickly. If it reached a group of chimpanzees there would be very little we could do – that’s why we have to make sure it doesn’t get into wild chimp communities.”

Dr Koops emphasises that the situation is urgent: “The numbers of Covid cases are definitely going up in West Africa, and things we are doing here in the U.K. like social distancing are very difficult in Guinea. One of the things that can be done is to wear masks, to at least try to slow the spread.”

Workers at research facilities in the area have been taking extra safety precautions and keeping a safe distance from the animals. However, limited availability of masks for the local communities surrounding the research sites is putting the chimpanzees at risk: “That’s why we’re trying to do this as quickly as possible.”

The Nimba Mountains (Photo credit: Dr. Kathelijne Koops)

The campaign is very personal to Dr Koops, who established the research site in Nimba and has been working in the area for nearly two decades. “The communities there, the people I work with – they’re like my second family. They’re all very close friends,” she says.

The project seeks to protect local people as well as chimpanzees, aiming to provide 3,000 masks for the residents of the three villages surrounding the research site: “We’re trying to raise funds to protect as many people as possible.” Organisers have also taken steps to ensure the scheme benefits the local economy; as well as being reusable; all masks are made locally by residents of the villages using locally sourced materials.

As a primatologist, Dr Koops’s research has looked to chimpanzees to illuminate human behaviour. “They’re our closest living relatives so if we want to know (for example) why we became such technological beings we study what drives the use of tools by our closest living relatives, the chimpanzees.” Chimps’ vulnerability during the pandemic is another reminder of how close these animals are to ourselves and how important it is to protect them.

To donate to the fundraiser click here.

Featured image credit: Dr. Kathelijne Koops